Reflection
by ImaginaryInk
Summary: "He watched the image shift from his own fearful expression into the psychotic façade of a dysfunctional man; the side of him which was supposed to be the alternate version of who he truly was." A one-shot in which the death of Turles still haunts Goku till the point where the nightmares just won't stop. Post The Tree of Might.


**A/N: This is my first Goku fic. Please be kind and enjoy the read!**

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_He treaded deeper into the dark, listening to the crunches of dry leaves caused by his heavy navy blue boots and shuffling of bushes as he made his way through the thick woodlands. He loved the tranquillity of the forest but he also itched to destroy and bring chaos to the lives that dwelled within. He was alone, and for some reason, he knew everyone was either dead or had fled. Thick mist blurred his vision, forcing him to stop walking every few seconds to reaffirm the direction he was headed to._

_A fingerless-gloved hand pushed away some large leaves and rotten vines before he stumbled into a vast clearing. He walked out of the forest and followed the sound of gushing water. There was a stream up ahead and in spite of the fog, he approached it without stopping this time. He paused by the bank and quietly took in his surroundings. The mist slowly dissipated, shrinking away as if it knew not to obstruct his path._

_He was a man on a mission to kill._

_The fog finally cleared away and the view before him was plain to see. Lightning bolts suddenly appeared, planting and making their marks into the soil of the Earth as if to punish the land. The jolts spread out in all directions, cracking the ground open in several areas. The skies rumbled and he stood his ground. He stared off into the distance, sizing up the humongous object that happened to be the cause of it all._

_There it was._

_The magnificent tree._

_The Tree of Might._

_He swallowed hard and turned his head away. 'That is no mighty tree', he spat inwardly, although some parts of him argued and insisted that this was the gateway for him to finally unlock his full potential. He stared listlessly into the running water below him, scrutinising the flow of the current that collided with the rocks, and something more, that were in its path. His brows knitted at the oddity of the display and then rose in surprise when he realised he had been watching his own reflection the entire time._

_Quickly, he fell to his knees and dug his fingers as deeply as he could into the moistened soil of the bank. His wide charcoal eyes locked onto his own image in the water, and despite the dark tanned skin he seemed to see himself with, he paled several shades of white at the sight of it. He made a sound, and his breathing quickened and heart paced. Straightening up, he sat on his heels and warily looked down at his trembling hands._

_He was wearing gloves. He never wore those things, and he had dark skin. These… these were not his hands._

_His fingers flew to his face and they knocked something out of his ear. The piece of device fell into the water and he immediately dipped his hand into it to fish it out._

_It was a scouter._

_A red-glassed scouter, similar to the one… to the…_

_He gulped and crawled back towards the bank, grimacing as he hovered once again over the reflection that he knew did not belong to him. Slowly, he reattached the device back to his temple and his lungs caved in at the sight before him._

_The sounds of the running water faded into the background only to be replaced by a deep reverberating play of a chuckle. The chuckle turned into a laughter, which in turn became louder as it forced its way into his ears. He clenched his eyes and covered his ears to will the sight and sound away, and hoped that when he reopened them, they'd be gone. Much to his dismay, the laughter became a maniacal cackle and he was forced to keep his eyes peeled. He watched the image shift from his own fearful expression into the psychotic façade of a dysfunctional man; the side of him which was supposed to be the alternate version of who he truly was._

_The side of him that was none other than Turles._

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Goku's eyes flew open and, as though he had just emerged from a dark pool of cold water, gulped down precious oxygen like a mad man. His hand clutched at his chest as his heart palpitated violently. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering the strength and focus to regain control of his breathing and hoped that Chi Chi hadn't realised that he had yet another 'nightmare'.

She would be sore with him for not telling her, for these nightmares usually led to a bout of pounding migraines and a case of mild epilepsy. There could only be so many painkillers and anti-epileptic pills one should take, and it'd take more than a human's normal dosage to ease the pain of a Super Saiyan's. Furthermore, he had injuries and internal damages worse than these before. He couldn't understand why these nightmares hurt more.

It had been nearly a year since Turles came to invade Earth, planting that vicious seed and draining the planet of its life, both nature and humans alike. During the fight with his darker counterpart, he was able to see first-hand how a true space pirate operated. Ruthless and cruel, but they were very much unlike from that of Frieza's army, Vegeta included. Saying so, seeing glimpses of himself in the lost Saiyan was not at all rare, for there were many an instance where he had unconsciously mirrored Turles' battle moves and manner of speech, even down to his facial expressions.

Even after putting the pirate Saiyan to his demise, these occurrences continued to haunt him. They disturbed him greatly, naturally sending chills down his spine whenever he stared at his own reflection, furiously refuting Turles' very words of how similar they were and how he could never, ever, deny his true nature. Months rolled by and the memories started to fade into the deep recesses of his mind, a place where he alone relived them all, remembering the physical pain, mental torture, and emotional turmoil only when he slept.

Goku closed his eyes and drew in a deep, shaky breath, turning to his side and pulling the warm body of Chi Chi flushed to his chest. He breathed in her scent, kissed her head, and softly sighed at the familiarity of all that he knew; the familiarity that made him who he was. He would never tell her about his nightmare. He would never tell her how his twisted dreams had affected his well-being. And he would definitely never tell her how close he had been to believing that he and Turles were one and the same.

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**A/N: Just so you know, I can write a good Kakarot but not a good Goku. Which explains why the characterisation of Turles in this story is stronger.**

**I intended this story to be about Turles, but as I reached the last few paragraphs, I realised that Goku's role was more significant.**

**Well, I hope that was an interesting read. Do leave me a review and tell me what you thought!**


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